Hi, we are Marie and Steve! Thank you so much for choosing to learn more about us as prospective parents.
Our story began over ten years ago at our church’s young adults’ group. We were both volunteering and had attended the same church for years but never met each other. The evening we met, Steve approached me and talked to me for over 20 minutes but never asked my name. After we left the church, I got a text from Steve asking if I wanted to get coffee with him sometime. He nervously asked one of my friends later for my name and number.
After the first coffee date, we knew we had found our forever partners. We spent hours talking, getting to know each other, and discussing what we wanted for our futures. We even talked about having kids, and both of our hearts were for adoption. It felt like we had known each other for years. We were engaged six months later, and two years after we met, we were married.
From that first meeting, we knew we both wanted a big family and had talked about having our own biological kids as well as adopting. We were blessed to start our family soon after getting married, and now, we have three beautiful girls. We have been looking forward to growing our family through adoption since our first coffee date and are excited to welcome another child into our hearts and home.
I was always the kid in school getting in trouble for chatting too much with my friends. I loved making friends and getting to know people. I was the drum major of my school’s marching band and loved spending weekends at band competitions. I was also part of the debate team in school and competed in public speaking. Little did I know then, but my career would be all about talking to people.
After finishing college with a degree in Human Resources, I started working in human resources as a recruiter. I have placed people in meaningful employment roles for over ten years. I love being able to help match people with great career opportunities.
Outside of work, I spend my free time volunteering at our church. I have taught our nursery students for the last eight years and helped run the program. I love designing creative lessons to teach, sing, and dance with kids. I also love home improvement projects. Big or small, I’m always fixing something, painting something, or rearranging our furniture.
I am very easygoing and am friends with just about everyone. I was involved in music arts and thoroughly enjoyed singing in high school. I also have a knack for computers and started my own computer repair service after graduation.
I completed my Master’s Degree in Finance and work full-time as the CFO of a manufacturing company in West Michigan. I have been there for almost five years and love my job. One of my favorite parts is building meaningful relationships with my colleagues and helping them develop professionally.
I love taking the kids to the donut shop on Saturday mornings and letting them pick their favorites. I do my best to take each of the kids out for an evening once every couple of months to spend one-on-one time with them. I can’t wait to see where this adoption journey takes us as our family continues to grow.
We are thankful to have three beautiful girls, ages 8, 6, and 2. Our oldest daughter is in 3rd grade. She is kind, patient, and smart. She cares deeply for her friends and family and has a naturally nurturing heart. You can always find her outside playing with her friends in the neighborhood. Our middle daughter is strong and compassionate. She is in 1st grade and loving every minute. She spends as much time as she can coloring, drawing, and making friendship bracelets for everyone. She spends as much time as she can in the water in the summer months. Our youngest daughter is silly and spirited. She loves being spoiled by her big sisters. She is always making people laugh and dances anytime she hears music. She moves as fast as possible to keep up with her big sisters.
Our girls are excited to grow our family through adoption. Five of their neighbor friends are adopted, along with their uncle. Steve and I have loved watching them ask questions and learn as much as they can about adoption. They can’t wait to share their love with another sibling.
We live in a beautiful brick home in a quiet cul-de-sac. When we bought our house, it needed some updating, and we have been working on it ever since. Our favorite parts of our home are the basement and the neighborhood. We have a large projector in our basement, and the kids have friends over to watch movies. We like to take our projector outside in the summer and have “movie on the garage” nights with the neighbors.
Our neighborhood is filled with kids. We have over twenty kids in our cul-de-sac alone! We spend almost every day in the summer playing with the kids at the end of the road, playing kickball, longboarding, and sharing the neighbor’s pools. We appreciate that our neighborhood is diverse and has adoption representation.
We are within walking distance of a large park with two big playgrounds. One of them has a big playset made of all wood. The kids love to walk down to the park and have a picnic lunch there in the summer.
We love how close we live to our family.
Our parents are by far the best grandparents a kid could have. They attend every dance recital, soccer match, and band concert. They spoil their grandkids and take them for special days out. Our parents can’t wait to have more grandkid days as our family grows through adoption.
Marie’s parents live on a lake just 10 minutes away. They have a boat, and we often spend weekends on the water. Marie’s side of the family is Lebanese, which means that holidays are a big family get-together. We love to eat Lebanese food and play Euchre at family get-togethers. The Lebanese side of the family is loud and fun and are big foodies. There’s always food on the table, no matter what time of day it is.
Steve and I have been blessed with great friendships over our ten years of marriage.
Neighborhood Friends: Our family enjoys spending time with our neighbors. In our cul-de-sac alone, there are over 20 kids. There is always a kickball game in the street to join or a warm pool to swim in during the summer. We are thankful to have diversity and adoption representation right next door.
Church Friends: One of the friend groups most special to us is our church small group. We get together every Thursday with other families. Our small group friends have been supportive of our decision to adopt, and can’t wait to welcome another member to our group.
We have built lifelong friendships and are so thankful for them.
As a family, we love to spend time together, vacationing. Some of our favorite spots to visit are Mackinac Island and Disney World. We try to visit each at least once per year. We also love to explore new places together.
Summers are spent outdoors. Whether traveling to the lake to kayak and tube or going for an evening walk in the neighborhood, we spend as much time as we can outside. We have a big 12-person tent that we bring with us camping a few times every summer.
We also love home improvement projects. Our friends joke with us, saying we should have our own show on HGTV. Our first home was a big fixer-upper, and we have had fun fixing homes ever since.
Our favorite holiday as a family is Christmas. We decorate the house with lights yearly, and the kids love to help. Each of the girls gets a new special ornament to decorate the tree with each year.
Thank you for taking the time to look at this book and consider our family. We can’t wait to be able to share our love with a new little one.
If you choose us as adoptive parents, we promise to give your baby as much love and support as we have to offer. They will have the most loving big sisters, a caring and supportive extended family, and a nurturing and accepting home.
We hope to stay in contact throughout the baby’s life to share milestones together.
No matter the level of openness you choose, we will ensure your child knows the brave and loving decision you made to give them the life they have.
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